The Travel Thread

[animaltested]

16 hours ago, Daniel said:

Going to Seattle in March.  Just there for a few days.  What do I need to do/where do I need to eat while I'm there?

Washingtonians, hit me up.

 

And while we're talking airports, **** Atlanta.

I might be the only Seattlite still on the board but Ill do my best. 

So Ill start with transportation, I recommend getting a Orca card and throwing money on it for the time youll be there. The light rail runs from the Airport all the way north to the University of Washington. You can get from the Airport to Downtown in under 40 minutes; cost about 3 dollars. Most of the important areas (Pioneer Square, Capital Hill, Westlake - Waterfront) all have stops. You can jump from the Light Rail to the Monorail to get the Seattle Center. Easiest way to get around city proper. There are also street cars (linking Westlake to South Lake Union, and the International District to Capital Hill). Uber and Lift are other options, but if you wanna stay cheapish, the bus system is fantastic. Google Maps is pretty good at selecting buses. Seattle is an incredibly walkable city, but very, VERY hilly so something to keep in mind. Streets are littered with Lime bikes too. One strange thing I suggest is to take 1-5 North over Lake Union. It has without a shadow of the doubt the most breathtaking city view you'll see (especially if the skies are clear). 1-5 South into the city is also pretty dope too. (But traffic is ridiculous, so might not even be worth it.) EDIT: Cant believe I forgot to add this, but if the skies are clear YOU MUST DRIVE SOUTH DOWN RAINER AVENUE. They call it RAINER avenue for a very specific reason. I think its the best view in Seattle. 

Seattle Center is obviously the big tourist area (Space Needle, MoPOP, Chihuly Gardens). Chihuly is probably the highest recommend part of the that area, and its best to go at night. Lower Queen Anne, and the surrounding area has tons of restaurants.  

The Waterfront is also a big thing to do. You got Pikes Place Market to check out, the Aquarium if that's your fancy, and a ton of shops and restaurants along the piers. There's also the Big Wheel too. For food options, there are a ton of great options in and around the Market. On the Waterfront Crab Pot is a cool thing to do and eat. Also a Whiskey distiller down there too. [FYI, if you walk the waterfront, ignore the CD dudes]. You can also take a passenger ferry over to West Seattle and Alki Beach. I think its free on most days.

Pioneer Square is a fun area to walk around in. Most of the buildings date to the 20s. I highly recommend doing the Seattle Underground Tour. You get to check out the old city down below and learn a bit about the history of the city. Out of Towners love this tour, and so did I. You can easily walk over to my neighborhood; The International District to eat. Tons of great Japanese and Chinese restaurants. Head a bit further east and you'll be in Little Saigon. If you do hit up the ID, Id recommend checking out the Wing Luke museum. They do a fantastic historical tour that focuses on the Immigrant communities that set up in the ID in the 20s,  30s and 40s. Has a pretty dope Bruce Lee exhibit too (he grew up here).

South Lake Union is a pretty picturesque area. Its where the Amazon & Google buildings are. Lotta boat stuff around there.

My favorite Eat-Drink-Walk-Eat-Drink-Walk area is Capital Hill. Its always been a bastion for counterculture, disaffected groups and anti-yuppies, and even though its been gentrified to heck, it still maintains its vibe. Best restaurants and bars in Central-South Seattle IMO. Some dope views too. 

Some other great Eat-Drink-Walk-Eat-Drink-Walk areas are further north, across Lake Union.

Ballard is drinking neighborhood with a fishing problem. Awesome restaurants and bars.

Fremont has a brewery on every block, the Fremont Troll, and Gas Works Park (ever seen 10 Things I Hate About You?) 

The University District has some awesome, cheap restaurants [and you can check out the insanely beautiful UW campus. Cherry Blossoms might be un bloom in March, not sure). 

Something also to consider is outdoor stuff. You cant throw a rock in Seattle without it landing in a park. Discovery Park is probably the biggest and best in the Seattle area. The Cascade Mountains and Snoqualmie [Pass and Falls] are about an hour and a half drive away. Lots of hiking and outdoors stuff around there. There are day trips available to Rainer and Olympic State Parks. But since you are only here for a few days, it might be too high a hurdle. There are also day cruises that will take you up in Puget Sound and the Straits of Juan De Fuca to check out all the islands and stuff. Might be Whale watching in and around there. 

The MUST eats are Ivars and D!cks. Both are local fast food options, and essential eating. Good cheap lunches. Regardless, make sure you eat Oysters, Salmon, King or Dungeness Crab, Clams and Mussels. And, maybe if you can find it Geoduck. 

Edited December 12, 2019 by animaltested

[Shanedorf]

damn, that's an awesome write-up on Seattle.
Take a bow

[RavensTillIDie]

3 hours ago, animaltested said:

Good Stuff

Dang, I was debating between Seattle and Portland as my next domestic trip. This write-up convinced me. Thanks @animaltested!

[Malfatron]

2 hours ago, RavensTillIDie said:

Dang, I was debating between Seattle and Portland as my next domestic trip. This write-up convinced me. Thanks @animaltested!

Portland has a really big bookstore

[49ersfan]

22 hours ago, animaltested said:

I might be the only Seattlite still on the board but Ill do my best. 

 

I visited a couple of years ago and didn't do any of this stuff. I forgot what i did besides pike place, but i was visiting family in bellevue. 

I'll probably go back at least once for family events, and i'll follow these tips for sure. It is a beautiful city for sure. I went in September and the weather was beautiful, no rain at all

[kingseanjohn]

I've never been to Chicago and I'm thinking about checking it out for a couple days in March. Anywhere that I have to see or eat?

[Shanedorf]

Chicago blows     (.... its the windy city)
Get up high in one of the skyscrapers, views of the lake and the city are awesome

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-observation-decks-in-chicago/

[49ersfan]

On 12/11/2019 at 9:08 PM, Shanedorf said:

I don't get it, why do they have such a crappy airport ? Are the casino's worried you'll hang out there instead ?
What a garbage dump.

 

You can have a pretty cool trip with that list, consider dumping France for this trip and spend a bit more time in the others.
Less is more and you can hit France on your next tour. Distances are pretty short by US standards so its definitely doable on the logistics side.
$$ is a different story

For Switzerland, I'd put Lake Lucerne and the Bernese Oberland on your list. Breathtakingly beautiful
Saas Fee is also fantastic, its the little-visited valley right next to the over-visited Matterhorn area
Switzerland is pricey, but totally worth it

Oh yes i definitely want to see Switzerland. One of my uncles lives in Zurich so i'd have a place to stay,  that will help with cutting down costs. I've also heard Germany is beautiful 

[mission27]

Mission and mrs mission were considering a tour of the swuss German Central Europe any suggestions Shane sort 

[TLO]

2 hours ago, mission27 said:

Mission and mrs mission were considering a tour of the swuss German Central Europe any suggestions Shane sort 

We’re also planning a Spain trip. 

[bigbadbuff]

Debating next trip to be either a Euro Trip to Greece and Italy or go the opposite direction and hit Hawaii. Never been to any of them. Also considering a European cruise.

[BobbyPhil1781]

15 hours ago, bigbadbuff said:

Debating next trip to be either a Euro Trip to Greece and Italy or go the opposite direction and hit Hawaii. Never been to any of them. Also considering a European cruise.

Did the Greek Isles and a Mediterranean cruise. Highly, highly recommend

[49ersfan]

I really wanted to take a 2 week vacation and do one of: 

Europe in the summer (Prague, Vienna mainly)

Japan/Korea in fall (Tokyo, Sapporo, Kyoto, Seoul, Incheon, Busan)

Argentina in the winter (Buenos Aires, Patagonia)

I had planned to go on each prospective trip with a different friend, but all 3 of my friends flopped for one reason or another. I  would only do one this year, but i wana do all three eventually. Don't really feel like undertaking these alone, so unless one of my friends changes their mind/another friend or friends wana join, it'll probably have to wait.

So now i'm thinking of just doing a trip to see family in Zurich. Maybe see Germany or something as well

Edited February 25, 2020 by 49ersfan

[JonStark]

Just got back from Thailand a few weeks ago. If anyone gets the chance to go there, I'd avoid Bangkok and focus more on Chiang Mai and Phuket. 

Bangkok is super humid and insanely crowded. Chiang Mai was cooler and there was a lot more to do outside of the city and Phuket, while pretty touristy, and beautiful when you made it outside of the city. 

[skywindO2]

On 2/20/2020 at 6:36 AM, JonStark said:

Just got back from Thailand a few weeks ago. If anyone gets the chance to go there, I'd avoid Bangkok and focus more on Chiang Mai and Phuket. 

Bangkok is super humid and insanely crowded. Chiang Mai was cooler and there was a lot more to do outside of the city and Phuket, while pretty touristy, and beautiful when you made it outside of the city. 

I kind of agree. I went to Krabi(Ao Nang) instead of Phuket but I'm pretty sure the experience is similar in either place. I loved Chiang Mai, thought it was a great tourist city and would happily go back. I don't know if I'd say avoid Bangkok, there was still some fun to have there but I'd definitely limit it to no more than 3 days, with one of those days including a day trip/tour in Ayuttaya. I just did an overnight/full day there but exploring the old temples/mini-Angkor was definitely one of my favorites from my trip.